Recent Posts

Tuesday 21 April 2015

A Reminder of a Good Link on the SSPX

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2015/03/sspx-schism-or-not/

[Masses of SSPX priests are valid but illicit.] Father Z

[Ehem… yes, that is true about fulfilling the obligations on days of precept. However, since they lack faculties to receive sacramental confessions, they do not impart valid absolution except in danger of death and they have no authority to witness marriages, so matrimony lacks canonical form.] Fr. Z.

The priests of the SSPX have no ability to witness marriages. Matrimony lacks canonical form. Also, they have no faculties to receive sacramental confessions which is necessary for validity of the absolution except in the case of danger of death.] Fr. Z.


[No. Priests of the Latin Church must… MUST… have the faculty to receive sacramental confessions. In the case of danger of death, the law itself gives any priest of the Latin church (even those who were “laicized”) the faculty in that moment. If the priest does not have the faculty to receive sacramental confessions, under normal circumstances, the absolution is invalid. This has nothing to do with schism. In the Latin Church proper canonical form for matrimony must be observed. Part of the proper canonical form is that the one who witnesses the marriage for the Church (priest, deacon, in rare circumstances a lay person duly appointed) must be officially designated as such a witness. What the Orthodox do in their Church is… whatever. We of the Latin Church follow our Latin Church Law.] Fr. Z.

Oil,war, war, oil

http://fortune.com/2015/03/26/oil-prices-go-crazy-as-saudi-arabia-goes-to-war-in-yemen/?xid=ob_rss

St. Anselm. Doctor of the Church

Anselm is one of my favorites. He got sick and tired of stupid priests, so made all the seminaries use the Trivium and Quadrivium for curricula.

He made sure the discipline in the seminaries including study and spiritual guidance. His changes created ripples of change in seminary life not only in Great Britain, but in continental Europe.


Read more about him under the Doctors of the Church series, or the tag St. Anselm or Benedictines.

More on this topic here.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/04/repost-of-benedictine-tradition-in.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/04/spirituality-behind-benedictine.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/04/repost-on-benedictine-education.html

No takers on the books for which I was begging...pray about it.

If our priests do not preach and teach, we must....

NWO in Washington D.C.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/disagreement-is-not-discrimination/2015/04/17/c9717ec8-e2d7-11e4-b510-962fcfabc310_story.html?postshare=8661429367301498

Francis, The Pope of the Martyrs

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/04/21/blood-of-christians-is-a-testimony-which-cries-out-to-be-heard-says-pope-francis/

To His Holiness Abuna Matthias
Patriarch of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church
With great distress and sadness I learn of the further shocking violence perpetrated against innocent Christians in Libya. I know that Your Holiness is suffering deeply in heart and mind at the sight of your faithful children being killed for the sole reason that they are followers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I reach out to you in heartfelt spiritual solidarity to assure you of my closeness in prayer at the continuing martyrdom being so cruelly inflicted on Christians in Africa, the Middle East and some parts of Asia.
It makes no difference whether the victims are Catholic, Copt, Orthodox or Protestant. Their blood is one and the same in their confession of Christ! The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard by everyone who can still distinguish between good and evil. All the more this cry must be heard by those who have the destiny of peoples in their hands.
At this time we are filled with the Easter joy of the disciples to whom the women had brought the news that “Christ has risen from the dead”. This year, that joy – which never fades – is tinged with profound sorrow. Yet we know that the life we live in God’s merciful love is stronger than the pain all Christians feel, a pain shared by men and women of good will in all religious traditions.
With heartfelt condolences I exchange with Your Holiness the embrace of peace in Christ Our Lord.

From the Vatican, 20 April 2015

Letter to Priests and Seminarians from Supertradmum

Dear Holy Clerics,

If you have been ordained, you have a huge and historical task to perform in these turbulent times.

You already have been made into an alter Christus, another Christ, in the place of Christ in the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of lay people.

If you are still in the seminary, you are contemplating becoming Christ in the world, offering up the great Sacrifice, that of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Today, sadly accepting the fate of Bishop Finn, I thought of writing to you, Holy Priests and Seminarians, with a plea from an ordinary lay woman in the pew, who is grateful to God for being in a lowly position in life.

You, as priests, will never be in a lowly position. Your lives will be scrutinized by all, and you will and do now, have high standards to meet before God and the civil laws of the lands. The just laws cannot be ignored. God's laws must be followed to the last dot and tittle. Christ tells us this Himself: 

Matthew 5:18-- For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

This means several things for you, Holy Men of God. The first is that you must no longer pursue the middle course of comfort, but embrace the hard road to perfection. Only saints will be able to lead us lay people into the times to come. Only those who are trying to be perfect will be able to withstand all the powers of the world, the flesh, and the devil. No stain of even venial sin, much less mortal sin, can be tolerated in the new necessity for holiness among priests.

The second is that you cannot be unaware, which may mean that you must surround yourselves with saints to support you in holiness in your ministries.

In days past, one could get by being a clergyman living in a lifestyle which resembled that of most of us, not pursuing mortification or perfection. You, Dear Brothers in God, have much more responsibility now, than ever, to become heroic saints. Then, you will be able to lead us in becoming saints.

Today, I thought of how to respond to the sad news of Bishop Finn's necessary resignation. He made a mistake, he broke a law, he overlooked something, which should not have been overlooked.

In order to be a saint, one must be vigilant and think of all the ramifications of each action, each day. One must rely totally on Christ, and His Mother Mary, to bring to mind all the important details of life, to reflect, to act in prudence and justice.

If you, Dear Priests, are asked to become a bishop, and your life has not been perfect, refuse. If you, Dear Seminarians, have not yet decided to become saints, do it now, today, realizing that the Church does not need merely good men, but excellent men.

We, the laity, promise to pray for you daily to become saints. We shall aid you in doing so by prayer and by our own feeble efforts to become holy ourselves.

The Church will be undermined by the less than perfect.

This is the Age of Saints and Martyrs.

Be one and you may become the other.

Let me join my prayers with yours for Bishop Finn. May he find forgiveness and peace in a lowly place, the place we are all eventually saved, that of complete humility and abjection.

Please, please, Dear Priests and Seminarians, be not just good, but perfect.
 
May Our Lady Queen of Apostles guide you daily to her Son.


Sincerely,


Supertradmum, mother of a seminarian, sister in Christ.

Eye Candy and Good News from Britain

http://www.lmschairman.org/2015/04/lms-priest-training-in-prior-park-photos.html

Venus and the Lyrids

The bright object in the western sky tonight is Venus. The Lyrids, a meteor shower in the constellation of Lyra, begin an hour or so after midnight and should be most obvious an hour before dawn.

I have stood near the White Cliffs in Kent and watched the Lyrids, and from the country of Iowa. I hope I see these clearly tonight where I am now. Both times were cold, cold nights. It will be cold tonight as well.

The Lyrids make me a bit homesick for the sky over England. But, perhaps, the best meteor shower I have ever seen was in Ireland in January, the Quandratids.

Another great shower I saw was in Canada, the Orionids. The Perseids are supposed to be the best, but I have not seen a great shower in August as of yet.

One never forgets great sky shows. I hope it is clear where you will be tonight and tomorrow night for this year's Lyrids.

http://earthsky.org/tonight/lyrid-meteors-best-before-dawn



Thanks to My Readers

The serious spiritual posts got way more attention than the political ones, and like a good teacher, I am so pleased.

I shall post later today, as I have a busy bakson day.


Prayers, please for some very special intentions which I cannot share.

Pax vobiscum.

Buy a lovely rosary for your mum this coming Mother's Day, Americans.


https://www.etsy.com/listing/229786191/irish-rosary-with-ocean-jasper-nuggets?ref=shop_home_feat_3

Over 3,700 hits yesterday. Not a record, but nice...

Fantastic tiny house made by the owner

http://tinyhouseblog.com/uncategorized/amys-tiny-lotus-house-in-montana/